The House of Strife
by GeneralQuistis-Zhakeena
Summary: One tragic night, Cloud goes insane and kills his family. Afterwards, the souls in their house will not rest and many more deaths occur. (AU, parody of Ju-On--The Grudge. Please Review!)
1. Tseng

The House of Strife

By GQ and Zhak

Disclaimer: We don't own anything. Final Fantasy 7 and Kingdom Hearts belong to their respective owners.

GQ's Note: Uhm… this is like an Alternate Universe fic, so stop wondering why Aerith and Rufus and President ShinRa (plus several other "dead" guys) are alive in some parts. Anyway, the concept is somewhat based from the movie _Ju-On_ (…or _The Grudge_, both parts one and two… the original Japanese version)

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Chapter 1: Tseng

That morning was cold. Clouds hung low and oppressive in the stark blue sky. A chilly wind flew through the cemetery in the peaceful town of Kalm. The scent of flowers smelled fragrant, but left a bitter feeling for those who smelt it. Everyone was dressed in black. It was the burial of the Strifes.

Friends and family all gathered round as they paid their last respects to the couple. The coffins were closed. They wouldn't smell the blood that had once covered them both.

"I understand they hadn't found their son yet," whispered a man to a woman.

"Kyah… I think the President isn't stopping the search yet… even though it's been quite a while now. For all we know, Sora might have been killed too." she answered in a whisper.

The President heard them, but said nothing. He felt the lump in his throat grow bigger, but he still wore the poker-face he is so known for. He turned to his wife. Her crimson eyes were blood-shot. She held a wet handkerchief in one hand. "Tifa…" he said in a low voice, almost gently.

"I can't believe they're dead now… why? What has gotten into Cloud that night?" she whispered. She sobbed again.

Rufus said nothing. He put an arm around his wife's shoulders.

One by one, they went to the coffins and either prayed for their souls or say a few words that they didn't had the chance to say to them before. Then they were buried.

Flowers and handfuls of dirt were thrown in before Cloud and Aerith were buried, with hopes of sleeping peacefully under the earth…

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"Elena?"

She looked up curiously from her paperwork. Then she stood up quickly and saluted. It was the President. Rufus was looking at her with a cold look on his face and he looked a bit troubled too. "Follow me." He instructed.

She blinked in curiosity before nodding. Rufus went ahead of her and she followed quietly. "What is it this time?" she thought silently to herself. As they rode the elevator, she thought silently, "Maybe he found more clues on where Mr. and Mrs. Strife's son is… and he wants me to verify it. Poor kid… I wonder what happened to him… it's been a month ever since after his parents had been buried…" she thought to herself.

Her eyes widened when they finally reached the floor where the quarters are located. Rufus went straight to his Old Man's room.

Tifa was just standing in one corner with a tired look on her face. Elena could hear Old Man ShinRa's babbling, scolding Tifa about several things, emphasizing to her that he hated her so much. "You don't deserve my son! You're just a girl from the slums and he's…" he was stating when Rufus entered with a stern look on his face. The Old Man turned to his son and smiled sweetly. "Oh hello sonny boy! I was just telling your wife that she's the loveliest creature in this building." He lied.

"Elena, I want you to phone Reno and the other Turks. Take this disgusting old bastard to that old house in Sector 2." Rufus instructed coldly.

"WHAT?!" Old Man demanded, but he could not get out of bed. He could not even walk. His legs had been paralyzed because he suffered from a stroke just five months earlier. Rufus hoped that he would just die but unfortunately, he survived and is living with the family again because the doctors said so.

Tifa turned around, gazing outside the window with an annoyed look on her face. "At last the Old Man's going away. I can't take him anymore…" she thought to herself.

"Old house, sir?" Elena asked.

"The Strife's old house. The bank just sold it to me. I figured we could put Old Man there instead of putting him at the Home for the Aged." Rufus explained.

"Why you…" and Old Man ShinRa started cursing his own son. Rufus just rolled his eyes, numb to all of his father's words and cursing. "Be thankful that I am still considerate to let you have your own house to live in instead of just dropping you off somewhere in Sector 7 and letting you live a life of a beggar!" Rufus snapped impatiently before turning to Elena who was already phoning Reno.

"Who told you to do this to me? Don't you have any respect for me, boy?!" Old Man gasped and turned to Tifa. "You whore! You brainwashed my son into thinking that I am a bad father, didn't you!?" he demanded angrily.

"I beg your pardon?!" she demanded in shock, turning back to him with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Hey, watch it, Old Man! My wife is not a whore unlike your concubines! And no, she was not the one who brainwashed me into thinking that you are a bad father, because you _are_ a bad father in the first place!" Rufus snapped angrily before turning to the door when the rest of the Turks finally arrived. Rude, Reno, Tseng and Vincent just stared curiously at the scenario. Rufus approached Vincent, the new leader of the Turks who is also one of his closest friends with Cloud. "Take Old Man to Cloud's old house. He's going to live there from now on. I'm sending a nurse there to take care of him." He instructed.

"A nurse?" Vincent asked.

Tifa frowned and approached Rufus. "Make sure the nurse isn't voluptuous or else he might do something stupid to her." She muttered before stepping out of the room with a frustrated look on her face.

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The former President Eikichi ShinRa now found himself being wheeled by one of his Turks in the abandoned Sector 2 House. Despite being in a well-to-do Sector, the house is quite small and rather humble-looking. It wasn't the extravagant mansion that the Old Man was thinking of. "Oi, Rufus… You've really disowned me and sent me to die a miserable death here," he muttered, loud enough for the Turk to hear.

Tseng frowned. He turned to his other colleagues and his boss. "Aren't you coming in with me?" he asked.

Reno shrugged. "Nah, I'll stay out here and have a look around… probably find a dead body or something," he went towards the garden, full of yellow, pink and white flowers that Aerith used to take care of. Rude shook his head and followed him.

Elena bit her lower lip. "I'll be watching the car, sir," she said before going in their vehicle again.

Tseng desperately turned to Vincent. Vincent was looking up at the house, as if searching for someone in the windows. "Sir?" he asked.

"Tseng," he began. Then he shook his head. "No, I'm not coming in. Too many bad memories… I'm sorry."

The Turk sighed. "I understand sir." Then he turned to his former President. "So, let's go in now."

"Yeah, whatever," he grumbled. The wheelchair moved smoothly towards the front door. Tseng opened the door.

"Let me see… I think this is your room, sir," he opened one of the sliding rooms from the living room. It was a small guestroom, fit for one person. The design was almost minimalist, if it wasn't for a few flowers hanging by the windows. "See, it isn't as bad as you thought initially."

"Don't talk to me like that, Tseng. Rufus left me here to die. I guess I'll have to die living like a poor man. Stupid room," he grumbled. "Well, carry me to my bed. I'm never leaving it again."

Tseng cringed before he did as he was told. Once the Old Man settled in, he opened the bedside lamp. "Make me my dinner and bring it to me. Then you and your other Turks may leave me…"

"Yes sir." Tseng left the room. Eikichi sighed as he looked around the room. "It's not so bad, once I get used to it… I sure hope it isn't haunted," he muttered to himself.

He froze. Something on the ceiling moved. He looked up. It was only the shadows of the cars that pass by. "I wonder if I can survive a night alone here…"

Meanwhile, Tseng was in the kitchen, putting the spaghetti they had packed for the Old Man in a plate and getting some water. He was arranging the utensils on a tray. "Those Turks… just because they're disgusted by the Old Man doesn't mean they have to make me do all the dirty work… next thing I know, I'll have to change his adult diapers for him, too…" He flipped his hair over his shoulders. "Oh well. I hope Mr. Valentine gives me a raise." He carried the tray and started walking to the former President's room.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a figure run in between the sliding doors from the living room. He jerked. Some water spilled from the glass. "Was that… Reno?" he asked himself. No… the figure was too small.

"This house is giving me the heebie-jeebies…" he thought to himself as he shook his head. He walked in the ex-President's room.

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"Hey, Tseng, we're at your place now."

He snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh… thank you," he said as he opened the car door to get down.

"Heh… by the way, thanks for doing most of our Old Man duty," said Reno, giving him a U ROCK hand signal.

"If only I were your boss again," Tseng said teasingly. "I could have given you a salary deduction."

"Well, you're not. Right, Vinny?" Reno said, nudging Vincent. He frowned at Reno before turning to Tseng. "Once again, Tseng, I must thank you for taking care of Mr. ShinRa. I might give you a raise."

"Thank you, sir. Well then," Tseng waved at them. He heard the car zoom away as he entered his building.

He reached the elevators and opened the doors. He pressed the button to his floor and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. The lower floors are seen zooming past the grates at the door.

Briefly, Tseng opened his eyes. He could have sworn someone was staring at him, even though he was alone.

The elevator rang. "Well… that was weird," he muttered to himself. Getting his room keys from his pocket, he walked towards the door to his room.

He entered. It was the same lonely apartment. Clean, but lonely. He was the only one who lived there. Sighing, he clicked on the lights and dropped on the sofa. "What a day."

He stared up at the ceiling. The room was so quiet. It reminded him of the fact that he is, indeed, alone in this world, at that moment. He desperately wanted another person in the room, somebody to talk to, somebody to look at—

Preferably, the one he had been treasuring ever since his younger days. Aerith Gainsborough.

_She's Aerith Strife, Tseng. Was Aerith Strife, _he thought to himself bitterly. She was it—she was the only one who had the ability to make him feel…

And he hated Cloud Strife more. Tseng had been content to see Aerith so happy with her new life with him. He was content watching over her…

But now she's gone. And Cloud is to blame.

_I wonder sometimes… what life would be like if the impossible happened. If Aerith somehow chose me to be her husband, instead of that bastard Cloud… _

"What?" He felt a suspicious shadow move in the room. He stood up quickly. "What the hell?!" he searched the room frantically, looking left to right. Nothing visible, but the presence is there.  
He turned around. His eyes widened. "Ae… rith?" he said in a hoarse whisper.

But… no. That is not Aerith. Aerith was beautiful. The being looking at the Turk is a corpse… a corpse with the same hair, the same build, the same eyes…

She strangled him. "Ou-a-a-a-a…" a loud croaking sound, inhuman to the ears, escaped from her mouth. Her eyes were wide, as if she was trying to shout, but unable to.

Tseng couldn't breathe. "Aerith! What are you doing?!" he wanted to shout, but he could only choke. "No… I'm dying…"

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Extra note from Zhak: We picked "Eikichi" as President ShinRa's name… well, because we felt like it. grin It's based from a character from the anime/manga/TV series _Great Teacher Onizuka_, named Onizuka Eikichi. Well, there's your bit of trivia. On to the next chapter!


	2. Old Man

The House of Strife

By GQ and Zhak

Disclaimer: We don't own anything. Final Fantasy 7 and Kingdom Hearts belong to their respective owners.

GQ's Note: Uhm… this is like an Alternate Universe fic, so stop wondering why Aerith and Rufus and President ShinRa (plus several other "dead" guys) are alive in some parts.

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Chapter 2: Old Man

He looked dejectedly at the tray that the Turk had given him. "I'm having these tiny crackers for breakfast?" he said in disbelief.

Elena bowed her head in apology. "I'm sorry, sir. It's doctor's orders. You're not allowed to eat rich foods from now on…"

"Gah… you people are killing me… Well, I'll see you at lunchtime, blondie. Get outta here."

She gritted her teeth as she left the room. Reno was waiting for her outside. "I thought Old Man was supposed to have a nurse?!" he mumbled to Elena. Before she could answer, Eikichi did it for her. "Yeah, that nurse. She went upstairs to check out some things. Didn't come back down… probably got stuck up in the roof or something or got eaten by rats."

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Eikichi grumbled as he listened to the Turks' footsteps from outside his bedroom door, proceeding someplace else away from him. "Great. I'm all alone again…" he mumbled. "I should have asked that cute blonde Turk to carry me over to my wheelchair…" he sighed. "Hmm… that stupid nurse didn't return. I wonder where she went to… now I'm stuck with Reno and Elena to take care of me here. Harumph…" he muttered miserably.

He searched his bedside table for a good book. "Hm… romance… history… horticulture… nothing worth my time," he grumbled as he scanned the titles. "Oh, horror. Better be good," he said, getting a black, hard-bound book and leaning back on his pillows. He read the synopsis at the back of the book. "A dead couple, an abandoned house, a curious idiot goes in the abandoned house. Typical." He threw the book on the floor. He opted instead for television. He felt under his covers for the remote. Once found, he used it to turn on the TV. "News… news… cartoons… hey, that's my face on the TV… I bet they're making fun of me again…"

_"Eikichi ShinRa, former President of the ShinRa Electric Power Company, left the company to his son, President Rufus ShinRa, and opted to live in a humble house in Sector 2. The house once belonged to the influential Strife family, whose members are slain in a brutal murder by Cloud Strife himself…" _

The TV just switched off by itself, making him frown. "Goddamn it!" he cussed in annoyance before trying to switch on the TV again with the remote but it wouldn't. He flipped open the battery cover behind the remote and saw that there were no batteries. "What the…" he was surprised. Then he heard some croaking noises from under his bed. "Hey Reno, this isn't a good prank!" he yelled.

"What?" Reno asked from downstairs, hearing Old Man yelling his name.

Eikichi just threw the remote on the TV and the croaking stopped. When he turned to his left side, he saw a young boy with spiky brown hair and blue eyes around the age of 14 standing by his bed, staring at him with a dazed look on his face. "Hey… who let you in here?" he asked with a frown on his face.

The boy just stared at him with the same facial expression. Eikichi just snorted. "Well… what's your name?" he asked.

The boy was silent for a few moments before speaking up, "Sora…"

Eikichi blinked. "Sora? Now where did I hear that name…" he froze when he heard the croaking noises again. "What the hell? Hey kid, I'll give you 10 bucks if you can find where that noise is coming from…" he froze when he saw a pair of hands creeping over the boy's shoulders down to his chest. The hands didn't look normal… the fingernails had blood in them and the hands were too pale with traces of black and blue all over them. Slowly, a head emerged from behind the boy's shoulders. Eikichi stared horridly at the hands and then at the brown hair of the person slowly rising from behind the boy. A pair of horror-stricken green eyes stared back at Eikichi, making him gasp. For some reason he could not scream. It was a woman.

"No…" he was thinking in horror…

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Elena was cooking dinner for herself and for Reno. "I can't believe the First Lady told us to spend the night here and then tomorrow Rude's going to be the one to _babysit_ the Old Man." Elena muttered

"Heheh! At least we can _bond_ here!" he told her with a silly smile on his face.

She made a disgusted face at him, "Hey, this isn't _play-time_, Reno. We're still on the job site." She snapped.

"Aw c'mon… the Old Man wouldn't know!" he said with a playful grin. She just shook her head. "No." she said sternly. Reno just remained seated by the dinner table, watching Elena with a dumbfounded look on his face before realizing something. "Hey, we forgot to feed him lunch!"

She gasped. "OH MY GAWD!!!???" she cried out in shock.

Silence.

"Come to think of it, he hasn't even hollered at us all day!" she pointed out.

"Maybe he isn't hungry at all." He told her.

They heard rapid footsteps from one of the rooms next to them. They turned around immediately. "Whozzat?" Reno asked.

"Sounded like somebody running… maybe it's a thief," Elena whispered.

"Well why don't you take a look?" he asked.

"I'm cooking here. Duh!" she said airily as she rolled her eyes. Reno got up and shrugged. "Fine." And went to the other room to check.

Elena continued to stir the stew in the saucepan while humming a tune. While doing so, she felt some fingers touching her scalp. She frowned and swiftly turned around, thinking it was Reno. There was no one there. She began to feel nervous. "Reno?" she called out.

He returned with a calm look on his face. "No one here. The doors are locked and all the windows are shut. No one could get in." he told her. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the way she was looking at him. "You look like you've seen a ghost." He told her.

"I felt someone touch my head!" she said.

He just laughed at her. "Yeah right. Whoooo!" he wailed, imitating a ghost. She just frowned at him, suddenly forgetting the incident. "Never mind…" she muttered before she switched off the stove and removed the saucepan from it, placing it on top of the kitchen counter. "Shall we give some to Old Man?" she asked.

"What kind of stew is that?" he asked.

"Beef with potatoes." She replied.

"Just give him the potatoes and then some rice." He told her.

"Alright." She said, preparing Eikichi's meal. Reno sat down on the chair by the table and began to read some newspapers.

Moments later, Elena approached him and placed a small bowl in front of him. "Give this to him upstairs." She said.

He stared unbelievably at her. "Aw c'mon! I have to prepare ours too!" she told him. He rolled his eyes and got up, snatching the bowl and a spoon before proceeding upstairs, leaving Elena there.

Reno went straight to Old Man's room and was surprised to see that the door was left wide open. He stopped for a while to stare at it. "Hmm… must've forgotten to close it this morning…" he thought before finally stepping inside. He saw that the TV was switched on but showing nothing but static. "What are you watching, sir?" he asked before turning to the Old Man. He was still on the bed and seated, slouching. He looked dazed, his eyes staring blankly at the TV. Reno felt weird upon seeing the Old Man looking like that as he switched off the TV. He went over to Eikichi and placed the bowl by the bedside table. "Okay, what did you do all day?" he asked.

Silence.

Reno frowned. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Eikichi was just quiet, still staring at the TV. Reno followed his gaze and then back to him again. "Do you see a little girl coming out from the well and coming at you? Hahahahaha!!!" he mocked, laughing.

Silence.

"Okay Old Prez, this isn't funny!" Reno said shoving him. He just fell stiffly on his side, surprising Reno. Eikichi was dead. "What the?!" he cried out in shock as he backed away. "Elena!" he called out.

From downstairs, Elena looked up at the ceiling when she heard Reno's voice calling her. He sounded frantic. She got up from the chair in the kitchen where she was seated and went to the hallway, but as she rounded the corner, she froze when she saw a young boy standing by the stairs and staring up at her with a dazed look on his face. "Sora…?" she asked softly with mixed emotions. He's alive? And he's back?

Sora just stood there, staring blankly at Elena. Elena smiled. "Sora, you're…" she began, as she reached out a hand to him, but someone else grabbed her wrist, surprising her. The hand came from the mirror hanging on the wall beside the two of them. She turned her gaze to the mirror and saw Aerith Gainsborough staring back at her from the reflection. "Aerith!" she gasped out in shock and turned to her other side, but no one was standing there. It freaked her out because the hand really came out from the mirror… and there was something different about Aerith: she looked to pale and bloody… and she was black and blue all over. Elena screamed.

From upstairs, Reno heard her scream. He instantly rushed out of the room and down the stairs, but when he reached the hallway, he saw that Elena was lying on the floor and shaking violently. "Elena!" he had managed to say with a worried look on his face as he approached her. He knelt down beside her and took her in his arms, shaking her. "Hey, what happened to you?" he asked.

She could not answer, but she was looking past his shoulders with her wide brown eyes that gave off a very frightened stare. Reno slowly turned his head to his side, and from his peripheral vision, he saw what Elena had been staring at. It was Sora. "Yikes!" he cried out in surprise as he accidentally let go of Elena and got up to his feet, backing away from the boy while staring horridly at him. Sora was just staring at him with wide eyes.

"What are you doing here?!" Reno asked in shock before turning back to Elena. She suddenly stopped breathing and she closed her eyes. He turned back to where Sora was but he wasn't there anymore. The whole house was silent for several moments before all the events slowly registered into his consciousness. "…Elena?" he asked softly as he approached her again and knelt down beside her, touching her face.

Elena didn't respond. She was still.

Reno's aura changed. Silently, he dragged Elena by her arms upstairs. Her body hitting each step made violent sounds. Then the whole house fell silent, as if waiting with bated breath as to what will happen next.

Scarlet stopped by the driveway of the house in Sector 2. In her shiny red convertible, she stared up at it and frowned. "Creepy… I think I'm getting goosebumps… Kyah!" she said, wrapping her arms around herself as she got down from her car and walked towards the front door. She rang the doorbell. And waited. Nobody came out.

"Those Turks… I bet they're doing miracles up there…" she grumbled to herself, impatiently pressing her manicured thumb over and over the doorbell button. "Kyah! Reno! Get down here! I need to talk to you!!!"

She waited for a few more moments before the door was finally opened. Scarlet frowned. "You look as drunk as ever, Reno. Do they keep liquor in this house?" she asked.

"Scarlet. What do you want?"

"I need to talk to Mr. ShinRa regarding some documents that I need for the Weapons Department. Is he still eating?" she tried stepping in the house, but Reno stopped her. "The boss… he's asleep. You could try your luck tomorrow."

Scarlet frowned again. "Kyah! I could wake him up!" She tried a side-step, but Reno blocked her way again.

"I said, tomorrow, okay, Scarlet? It could wait, can't it…" the Turk trailed off. His gaze fell to the floor.

"Reno…are you staring at my shoes? Are you all right? Don't barf on me…" said the woman. She stared at the red-head. "Reno…?"

_"She's not Aerith. She is dead. She's not alive. She's not Aerith. That's not her son." _

"What the heck are you babbling about? Kyah!" Scarlet pushed him, but he didn't budge. Reno shook his head and hoarsely told her again, "Try your luck tomorrow, Scarlet. Good night." He slammed the door at her face.

"Well!" Scarlet said annoyingly. "And here I am, being concerned for him! Stupid drunken Turk…" she turned on her heel and started walking to her car, but she stopped. "Maybe I could sneak through the back door…" she tip-toed her way towards the back and tried her luck.

But it was locked. "Oh well. Might as well try tomorrow… Kyah!" she stomped her way towards her red convertible and sped towards Sector 1.

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End chapter 2. Review and go to chapter three.

croooooaaaaak


	3. Scarlet

The House of Strife

By GQ and Zhak!

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Chapter 3: Scarlet

Scarlet lived in one of the most expensive condominiums in the city. She opened the door and at once said, "Kyah! Reeve! I can't believe that Reno!" She stomped her way towards the living room where Reeve was watching the news.

He looked up at her curiously. "He did something perverted?"

"No! For some strange reason he wouldn't let me see the Old President! I bet he's poisoning him or something. Or probably painting the town red with Elena. If you know what I mean." She kicked her red shoes off and fell down on the couch next to Reeve. "That Valentine should fire that guy. He doesn't act like a Turk at all. More like a slacker…" she fumed.

The Head of Urban Development Department sighed. "Don't fume like that, Scarlet. It's unhealthy."

"Kyah!!! I'm so pissed off!" she gritted her teeth. Reeve put an arm around her shoulder and smiled. "Calm down. Maybe you could use a drink or something."

"I need a shower…" she threw his arm off and stomped her way to the bathroom.

Reeve frowned. "Okay." He continued watching the news again.

Once in the bathroom, Scarlet took off the clamp that held her hair up. She turned on the shower and waited for steam to rise. She felt some water drops on her hand to test the warmth. "Kyah… just right," she said before stripping and stepping in the shower. She sighed as some drops hit her face. "Feels nice…" she grabbed a bottle of shampoo and started lathering it on her hair.

The sounds of water gushing from the shower head and echoing in the bathroom and the sounds of the bubbles in her hair as she worked it with her hands made her forget about everything for a while. In a daze, she cleaned her hair of dust, dirt and whatever else is dirty in it…

_Thud thud thud_

Like the third hand that was gripping her head…

_Thud thud thud_

"Kyah?!" she turned around sharply. She touched the back of her head again. Nothing was there. "What the…?"

"Scarlet? Are you all right in there? I heard you scream," Reeve asked from the outside as he knocked on the bathroom door.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" she replied weakly. She twisted the knobs and turned off the shower. She felt too cold to continue bathing.

* * *

It was the next night. Reeve was fixing his papers in his apache briefcase when his phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Reeve. I'll be arriving late tonight. Just to let you know so don't wait up."

"Okay Scarlet. Bye. See you," he disconnected the call. Then he went on his way home to their condominium unit.

He opened the door. Mindlessly he kicked off his shoes and prodded them by the doorway. He thought he saw that Scarlet's trademark red heels were there already, but glancing down again, he knew he was imagining things.

"Hm. Strange. I must be tired…" He started walking towards the living room area. Then he stopped in his tracks. "Scarlet? You're here already?"

Scarlet had her back turned to him. She was on the floor, moving away from something in the center of the room. It was as if she was trying to avoid something.

"I thought you were coming a bit later. What's in there, a cockroach or something?" Reeve asked as he walked in the area. But the moment he stepped in the room, the woman disappeared. "… eh? Scarlet?" he looked around.

His cell phone started ringing in his pocket. Shaking his head, he didn't bother checking the caller and just answered it. "Hello?"

"Oh, Reeve. Are you home already?"

Reeve paused. "Scarlet?"

"Yes? What's wrong? Anyway, I have a feeling that I'll be receiving a very important call from Wutai later, so if somebody calls, give them my cell phone number, okay?" she said nonchalantly.

"I… hey, weren't you here just a moment ago?" he stuttered.

Scarlet paused. "Kyah! Reeve, what are you talking about? I'm on a chopper from Junon."

"But…"

"You must be tired. Get some sleep, but sleep next to the phone." She hung up without another word.

"Kyah… I'm tired…" said Scarlet a few hours from the phone call. She fumbled for her keys in her purse, grumbling as she did so. Finally, she got them and managed to open the door.

"I'm home!" she announced. She removed her shoes and put them by the doorway. "Reeve?" she asked gently as she stood up.

_Thud thud thud _

She froze. She's heard that sound before…

She ran in the living room area. And she screamed.

Reeve was hanging in the living room. Dark strands of questionable composition was wrapped around his neck. His tongue rolled out of his mouth.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!"

She fell on the floor. She started inching away from the body. "R… Reeve? Who did this to you?! WHO?!"

Suddenly, his corpse started swinging. Scarlet watched in fear as his feet hit the wall, making the thudding sound. She didn't want to see what was causing the swinging, but her gazed shifted slowly… ever so slowly… towards one side of the room.

A young boy caught Reeve's feet before swinging him again towards the wall. He paused slightly to stare at Scarlet. Then he continued pushing Reeve, enjoying the sound of his feet hitting against the wall, the thuds echoing in the dark condominium unit…

Scarlet wanted to scream again. Her long, red nails scratched against the floor as she inched away from the gory scene. "S… Sora…!!!" she whispered to herself hoarsely. She stumbled. Her gaze fell sharply to the ceiling…

"KYAAAAH!!!"

Aerith was on the ceiling, staring at her curiously. Her hair was dangling just above Scarlet. It lowered slowly, slowly, reaching her cheeks, wrapping around her neck…

"Ack!" Scarlet started to choke. Aerith was dragging her up then. Her feet didn't reach the floor anymore. Her vision started to blur. Her hands were on her neck, trying to pry off the death grip that Aerith's hair has on her neck…

Scarlet couldn't breathe anymore, not with her struggles and her muffled screams that sound like croaks. Her hands dropped to her sides.

Sora was watching her the whole time. When it was over, he had the grandest time swinging the couple and listening to the thuds on the wall over and over and over…

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Chapter four is up next! Please review. (wink)


	4. Vincent

The House of Strife

By GQ and Zhak

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Chapter Four: Vincent

"Tseng's been absent for two days… and now Reno and Elena are absent too." Vincent sighed as he wrote some marks on a sheet of paper. "Rude, what have you heard from them?"

Rude shook his head. "Called Tseng. Didn't answer. As for Reno and Elena, they're probably taking a break from watching Mr. ShinRa," he said.

"Hm… we must check up on Tseng soon. It isn't like him to be absent without warning. But for now, we must call Reno and Elena. Maybe they hadn't left Sector 2 yet," Vincent said as he reached for the phone on his desk. After dialing some numbers, he paused. The phone kept ringing. Nobody answered. "Hm. Nobody's home." He replaced the receiver.

"What do we do, sir?" Rude asked.

"Well, we should see the house for ourselves. Along the way, Rude, could you please try contacting them via PHS?" he said, standing up.

Rude nodded. "I'll get the car ready, sir." He walked out of the room.

Vincent rubbed his forehead. "I didn't recall being a Turk being this stressful," he muttered to himself. His PHS started ringing. "Vincent Valentine speaking," he said softly.

"Hey, Vinneh."

The Turk rolled his eyes at the sound of the voice. "Hello, Sephiroth. What is it?"

"I got nothing to do. Could I tag along with the Turks today?"

"Absolutely not."

"Pleeeeeeaaaaaase? Is it confidential stuff you're doing today? Did Rufus tell you to kill some paparazzi or kidnap someone?" Sephiroth pleaded.

"No. We're just going to inspect the Strife's house today and check up on Mr. ShinRa. Which reminds me… I'll have to take Lucrecia with me. She must take a look at him," Vincent replied.

"C'mon, Vinneh! It's not like I'm gonna do anything stupid."

"I highly doubt that." Vincent hung up and put the phone on silent mode. Then he went out of the office and walked towards the laboratories to fetch the lovely Dr. Lucrecia.

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Rude stepped on the brakes, making the car stop by the driveway of the old Strife house. Sephiroth was waiting by the garden, poking some of the weird-looking flowers growing by the front porch.

Vincent wrinkled his nose. "What is he doing here?! I specifically told him not to come…" he thought to himself. Sephiroth, Rufus's newly-appointed General in replacement for Heidegger's old position, turned to look at him. "Hi, Vinny." He greeted, and then turned to his mother, "Hey, mommy." He greeted with a silly smile on his face. Lucrecia just stared in awe at her son. "What, may I ask, are you doing here?" she asked.

"Waiting for you guys. I figured you could use more bodyguards." Sephiroth told her coolly.

"Does Rufus even know you're here?" Vincent asked as he watched Lucrecia and Rude proceed to the house and entered. Sephiroth just followed with his gaze, "Well… I told him I needed to go to the bathroom and left him in his office. Besides, he's talking to his wife about some matters regarding their children." He explained.

"Bathroom, huh? Well wouldn't Rufus start looking for you after he talks to Tifa?" Vincent asked.

"He's a big boy. He can take care of himself even without a bodyguard like me." Sephiroth said before turning back to him. Vincent was not even looking at him, instead, he was eyeing the house quite strangely.

"Well, aren't you coming in with mommy?" Sephiroth asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Vincent just shook his head. "You go on ahead. I'll wait here and guard the car." He told him.

"Well. Okay. See you later," Sephiroth waved and skipped in the house.

Upon seeing the former President dead in his room, Lucrecia shrieked.

Rude and Sephiroth stared at his corpse in awe. "Man! What killed the Old Man?!" the General cursed. He turned to her mother just in time to see her collapse. "Mom!" He and Rude managed to catch her just in time.

"Damn." Was all Rude could say.

"Geez… I guess we don't need to check up on him anymore. We better get Mom outside and tell Vincent to call some cops to look into this…" Sephiroth carried his mother in his arms.

Rude looked around the house. "No… General, Reno and Elena were here last night and they didn't come back. I'll go look around the house first."

"Well, alright, but make it quick. Tell us if they're ok as soon as possible," said Sephiroth before carrying her mother out of the room.

Rude nervously looked around the empty house. Nothing looked suspicious at all in the first floor. Well, maybe except for the fact that everything was clean. He expected it to be messy since Reno stayed there overnight. "Reno? Elena?" he called out in the living room.

The bald Turk looked up at the stairs. He found it strange that it was very dark up there, when it was 9 in the morning. "Hey, are you guys up there?" he called out again.

He walked up the stairs. He peered around the hallway for any signs of murder, or anything suspicious. Nothing.

He heard a slight sound from one of the rooms. "Reno?" he asked. Suddenly feeling nervous, he used one sweaty hand to turn the knob of the door.

Rude's eyes widened behind his sunglasses. The usually silent Turk even shouted at what he saw. "GOOD GRIEF!"

Elena was slumped on the floor. Her gaze was fixated on the floor. Next to her slumped Reno, with one arm around her. His head was close to hers, as if whispering something to her…

They were both dead. Rude fell on the floor, on his knees. "Reno… Elena…" he croaked meekly.

Vincent jerked when he saw Sephiroth carrying an unconscious Lucrecia out of the house. "Oh dear lord! What happened to her?!" he said urgently as he hurried towards the General and carried Lucrecia for himself.

"She fainted when she saw Old Man… somebody killed him." Sephiroth explained.

Vincent bit his lower lip. "We must leave… we must call the authorities. Where is Rude?" he asked as he went towards the car.

"He went looking for Reno and Elena. I'd better call him…" Sephiroth ran in the house again.

"Yes, please hurry…" Vincent laid Lucrecia down on the car seat. He stared at her. "Lucrecia… I have a bad feeling about this…" he muttered.

He sat next to her and guarded her. "I do wish Sephiroth would hurry… I think I should call the police now," he reached for his PHS and dialed the hotline. "Hello, police? Please hurry in the old Strife house in Sector 2. There's been a murder…"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lucrecia jerk. He stared at her curiously, but went back to his phone conversation. "Yes… Mr. Eikichi ShinRa is found dead in his room. General Sephiroth told me so himself… Yes, thank you…" he ended the call. Then he looked over to where Lucrecia was laid… and saw that she was there no more. "Lucrecia?"

A dragging sound from behind him called his attention. He turned around and gasped. "LUCRECIA!"

An invisible force dragged her unconscious body towards the house. Vincent jumped to his feet and sprinted towards Lucrecia. "NO!" The force was too fast. It had managed to get Lucrecia in the house. The door slammed. Vincent was at the point of ruining the door knob in a vain attempt to open the door, but he could not.

He beat on the door when he heard Lucrecia screaming. "Lucrecia! Lucrecia!" he kept shouting.

"No! No! Make it stop! Make it stop!..." she was screaming over and over.

Vincent even got his gun and shot the door knob when he heard knives being brandished and the sounds of slashing. "Why the bloody hell won't this damned door open?!"

Lucrecia stopped screaming. Vincent froze. He only heard one last choke from inside. "No…" he said helplessly.

The door opened on its own. Inside the house, in plain view, was Lucrecia… all bloody and slashed. Her body leaned against the stained wall. Her eyes were open.

In a daze, Vincent walked towards her. He fell on his knees beside her. "She's…"

Sephiroth opened the door to the room. He saw Rude there, frozen, staring at his friends. "Damn…" he thought to himself. "Rude…" he called.

"Reno and Elena are dead." Rude stated. There was a trace of grief in his voice, but he didn't move.

"I…" Sephiroth was at a loss for words. "Well…"

The door behind him slammed.

"What the hell?" he said. Rude looked up curiously. Then the screaming began.

"Oh my god! Mother!" Sephiroth said as he tried to open the door. But it was jammed. "Dammit!" he rattled it over and over, but it still would not open. "Rude! It locked by itself!"

Rude instantly stood up and tried opening the door too. He and Sephiroth beat it up, but it remained shut. Even when Sephiroth tried hacking through the door with his Masamune, it remained closed.  
"Mommy!!!" he screamed. When the screaming stopped, the door opened and Sephiroth and Rude fell through the door. They instantly got to their feet and ran downstairs. When they finally arrived at the first floor, they saw that Vincent was kneeling down beside a dead woman all bloody and slashed. Sephiroth's eyes widened in horror, "NO!!!" he cried out in anger.

Rude began to hear some croaking sounds from upstairs and he shivered. "Sir, let's get out of here! I don't feel so good!" he told Sephiroth as he tried to drag the silver-haired man further and went over to Vincent. Sephiroth snapped back to his senses when he passed by the mirror and thought he saw Cloud's reflection through his peripheral vision. He looked back to the mirror and then to the direction where Cloud was supposed to be standing, but no one was there. He began to feel nervous. "Vincent," he began, but the Turk was still looking so stunned, staring at his beloved's corpse. Sephiroth broke free from Rude's grasp and ran over to Vincent as the croaking noises began to get louder and louder by the moment. "Come on!!!" he said sternly as he grabbed Vincent's arm and dragged him outside. "No… Lucrecia…she's…" Vincent stammered.

As soon as they got out, they saw that the sun has set already.

How long had they been inside the house?

"I thought you called for back-up?" Sephiroth demanded from Vincent. But he wouldn't respond well. He was so stunned by the events. Sephiroth got his own mobile phone and began to dial some numbers.

"Who are you calling?" Rude asked nervously as he got inside the car and tried to start the engine but it would not start.

"Rufus!" Sephiroth said in relief when someone picked up. "This is Sephiroth. Where's the back-up that we…" he trailed off when he heard the croaking sound again from the other line. His green eyes were wide in shock and he threw the mobile phone away. "What the fuck?!" he cussed in annoyance.

Vincent was looking up at the house and he started walking towards it again with a dazed look on his face. "Lucrecia…" he was saying softly, trying to stop himself from crying.

Sephiroth and Rude ran towards him again and tried to hold him back, "Vincent, stop it! Let's get away from here! We can't do anything about her now!" Sephiroth yelled at him.

Then something caught Vincent's attention from the second floor window. It was a young boy looking down at them from inside. He froze as his eyes widened. "Sora…" he said softly in awe.

"What?" Sephiroth asked.

Vincent broke free from the two's grasps and rushed back inside the house. "Sora is alive! He's inside the house!!! We have to save him!!!" he said with a concerned voice.

"Vincent no!!!" Sephiroth called out as he and Rude went after Vincent again inside the house. When the two got inside, Vincent was already rushing upstairs and then the front door just shut by itself, surprising them but Vincent who was already on the second floor by then.

Sephiroth and Rude froze when they saw someone crawling down the stairs… long wavy brown hair cascading over her shoulders and face… her hands and arms pale with black and blue bruises all over them… blood between her fingernails…

Sephiroth's eyes widened in shock. "Ae…Aer…Aerith…" he had managed to say in awe.

The croaking sound grew louder as she opened her mouth to say something and lifted her gaze to them, her green eyes reflecting horror in them as she crawled closer and closer to the two…

From upstairs, Vincent finally reached the room where he knew he saw Sora. It was the room where Old Man ShinRa's corpse is… and when Vincent got inside, the TV was switched on but showing only static. He swallowed hard as he scanned the whole room while walking towards the TV. When he reached it, he attempted to switch it off, but it wouldn't. He became impatient and turned to the socket where the TV is plugged in. He saw that it was not even plugged in, but he still reached out to the wire… and when he did so, a small hand grabbed his wrist. He turned to the young boy hiding behind the TV and staring up at him with wide blue eyes. "Sora!" he exclaimed in surprise… but there was something different about the boy… he was very pale and there were dark circles around his eyes. Then Vincent noticed a shadow of a person looming over them and when he turned around to check on who it was, his mouth dropped open but was no sound came out. "Cloud!"

And then there was darkness.

The next day, the police found 7 corpses in the old Strife house. The corpses in the living room were obviously murders, but the assailant left no traces of evidence that can be used. Mr. Eikichi ShinRa and Vincent Valentine's corpes are in the same room. The authorities found that the TV is ruined. They concluded that it exploded. The two of them, along with Reno and Elena, died of an unknown cause.

The deaths disturbed Rufus ShinRa greatly. He found himself visiting 7 other funerals. And he didn't understand anything at all.


	5. Half A Year Later

The House of Strife

By GQ and Zhak

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Chapter Five: Half a Year Later…

"Finally you've arrived from Wutai. How's your family?" Tifa asked happily as she hugged her old friend, Yuffie. Yuffie embraced her tightly, "Whee!!! It's so nice to be back here in Midgar!" she said happily before letting her go. "Well we're alright but we still have no place to stay here. We sold our old house before we left Midgar to live in Wutai with my dad, remember?" she asked.

"Oh… yeah… but how come you left Wutai and decided to return here?" Tifa asked as she led the way to the 70th floor where Rufus's office is located. Zack and Kairi were tagging along.

"I wanted Kairi to finish her high school here in Midgar and then go to college in Junon. Besides, my father already said that he's willing to let us go." Yuffie explained.

"Oh that's good. That way you can be on your own, huh?" Tifa asked with a wink before turning to Zack. Zack just stared back at her with a sad look on his face. "I've heard the news," he said.

Yuffie's smile faded. "Oh… that…" she muttered.

Tifa just swallowed hard and nodded. "Cloud and Aerith… and the others… yes. It was a year and a half ago… but things seem to be peaceful now. But we really don't know what happened, still." She said softly.

"What about Sora?" Kairi chimed in with a sad look on her face.

The three adults were just quiet. Kairi bowed down her head. "He's dead, isn't he?" the 14 year-old girl asked.

"Well… we really don't know. He's still missing up to now." Tifa stated flatly.

"What do you mean? He's alive?" Zack asked.

"Possibly. When Cloud and Aerith died, he wasn't there at the house." Tifa explained. They were all quiet as they reached the 70th floor. Rufus was just standing by the window and gazing outside with a blank stare on his face. He turned around to look at who just entered. He smiled welcomingly at his wife, "Tifa," he said, then his facial expression stiffened again when he turned to look at Zack, Yuffie and Kairi. "Oh. You." He said stiffly.

"Hey, old buddy!" Zack greeted as he ran to Rufus and gave him a friendly hug. "Please don't hug me." Rufus muttered with a disgusted look on his face. Zack released him. "Oh. Sorry." And moved away.

"So… why have you come to me? Are you here to visit? Sorry, there isn't any tea." Rufus told them coldly. Tifa rolled her eyes. "Rufus, please be friendly. These are your friends too."

"Don't worry, I was just joking. Now, I understand you have a problem finding a house to stay in Midgar?"

Yuffie nodded. "Well, you know, just in case you can't find a place for us, we've already found this nice place in Kalm, and…"

"Nonsense." Rufus got a folder from one of his desk drawers and pulled out a sheet of paper with encoded addresses on it. "Here, a list of vacant spots in Sectors 1 and 2… the other sectors aren't suitable for a family."

Zack got the paper from him. "Gee… thanks, Rufus." He said. He scanned the piece of paper; most of them were either apartments or condominiums. Kairi looked over his shoulder. Her eyes fell on the last address on the list. "That's Sora's house," she stated.

Rufus and Tifa looked at each other briefly. Rufus snatched the paper back and blacked out the last address. "You don't want this one…"

"But Rufus! That's the only house in the list!" Zack said.

"But… uh…" Tifa began, but didn't exactly know how to continue.

"What? Is the house cursed or something?" Yuffie teased.

The ShinRas froze.

"Yuffie! Speak only good of the dead, remember?" Zack told her.

The room fell silent. Rufus cleared his throat. "Well… I just don't want any complaints…" he said. He didn't want to tell them that more than 10 people already died in that house.

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"Nope. This one's no good…" Yuffie crossed out the last address in the list.

Zack leaned his head against the steering wheel. "Great… I guess we're living in Kalm…" he said.

"But, Dad… it'll be hard for me to go to school…" Kairi said, still depressed.

"Well… I guess we better brainstorm on this one," said Yuffie as she leaned her back in the passenger's seat. They fell silent for a few moments, thinking about their options. "Well… I can't think of any other place in Midgar, other than the ShinRa Tower…" mumbled Zack.

"Hey! I know!" Yuffie snapped her fingers. "Zack, let's go to Cloud and Aerith's old house!"

He looked uneasily at her. "I don't know… Rufus and Tifa didn't want us to…" he reminded her.

"Well, they didn't exactly say _why, _did they? Rufus just told us that he doesn't want any complaints… whatever that means…" she replied, fastening her seatbelt. "So… come on. Even though they didn't want us to go there, I asked for the key to the house."

"But…"

"Come on, just a look. Doesn't necessarily mean we'll live there."

Zack sighed. He looked at Kairi through the mirror and saw that she wasn't exactly complaining. He turned the ignition key and they sped off towards the house in Sector 2.

"Yep! There it is…" Yuffie pointed at the house. The family got down from the car and looked up at it in awe. "Well… shall we come in?" she asked.

They walked towards the front door. Yuffie fumbled for the keys in her jacket, but Zack tried out the door knob and saw that it wasn't locked. "Well… that's weird. I wonder if somebody stole some stuff here," wondered Zack before he went in.

Yuffie looked over her shoulder and saw that Kairi was just staring at a window on the second floor. "Well, Kairi? Don't just stand there," she called out.

Kairi dropped her gaze and nodded. She trailed behind her parents.

They walked in and out of the rooms, first the living room, then the kitchen, then the guestrooms, then upstairs. Before they reached the attic, Zack stopped in his tracks.

"Geez, guys. I don't like this house. I mean… I just don't." He said, scratching his head.

Yuffie nodded. "That's good. This place gives me the heebie-jeebies… You guys still wanna look at the attic?"

"Nah, I'm good. Let's get back to the car…" The couple started to move towards the stairs when Kairi piped up, "No!"

They turned to her. "I want to live here. I want to stay here, Mom. Dad." She told them. She was turned towards the attic.

"Nope. Sorry, princess, but this isn't fit for the three of us. You know, Yuffie, one of the condominiums we visited in Sector 1 isn't so bad… maybe we could stay there," said Zack as he went downstairs.

"Well, all right. Let's look at it again. Come on, Kairi," said Yuffie as she took her daughter's hand and dragged her downstairs with her. Kairi gave a last look towards the attic and followed her mother towards the car.

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The school year started a few weeks later.

Kairi's high school is found in Sector 2. Every afternoon she waits to be picked up by her mother outside the school.

But one afternoon, Yuffie called her by PHS. "Kairi, I'm sorry, but I couldn't drive you home today. You know how to take the train to Sector 1, right?"

"Yeah, mom. Ok, I'll see you home," she said. She ended the call. "Great. I'll have to go home by myself."

She started walking towards the train station. But somewhere along the way, as she passed by streets and alleys, she froze.

Across the street was the old Strife house. She stared at it.

Across the street, Sora stared back at her.

Not being aware of her actions herself, she started walking across the street towards the house.

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She arrived home sometime in the evening. Zack was in the middle of cooking dinner when she entered the kitchen. "Kairi?! How come you arrived just now?!"

"I.... I'm sorry, Dad. I visited a friend's house, and… well, I lost track of time." Kairi replied meekly.

"Gee, you should have called me or your mom! I was worried sick! Good thing your mom isn't home yet; she'll throw a fit…" he said as he got back to frying some pork chops.

"I'm really sorry, Dad…"

"Well… okay, as long as you don't do it again." Zack patted her head. "I'll let you out easy today, but the next time, I'll have to ground you."

It was the last time that Kairi arrived home late, but it wasn't the last time she visited the house. She told her mother Yuffie not to pick her up at school anymore. She continued acting strangely. The cheerful girl that they once knew didn't recover from depression.

Zack would get suspicious sometimes; is it a boy? But he just shrugged it off. It's not like Kairi's grades were getting lower and lower. And she's not on the phone 24/7. So it must not be a big deal.

But one time, when it was Yuffie's birthday, he wanted to surprise her. He planned it all out; he'll ask Tifa to keep Yuffie busy until the evening while he and Kairi fix up the place after school. Then, when Yuffie comes home, there will be a small surprise party waiting for her.

But he forgot to tell Kairi that he was going to pick her up after school.

"Kairi? Kairi!" he waved at her from in front of the school amidst the students, the cars and the faculty streaming out of the school.

She didn't hear him. She kept on walking towards the station.

"Well… I guess I gotta follow her… Maybe I'll spy on her. Heheh…" Zack thought to himself as he tailed behind her inconspicuously in the car.

After walking through familiar sidewalks, Kairi stopped. Zack frantically stepped on the breaks and waited in the shadows of a tall building.

She walked across the street and into the Strife house's front yard.

"Hey! What's she doing there?" Zack asked out loud as he got out of the car. He locked it up first and jogged towards the front of the house. Kairi had already entered the house when he arrived.

"Geez… is there a club or something in this house?" Zack thought to himself as he tried the knob. It was open. He looked around the house and saw no one. "Kairi? Where are you?" he wandered in the first floor, looking in the rooms before trying the stairs. "Hey, princess? Where are you?" he called out as he walked the stairs step by step.

He reached one of the rooms. He saw a light glowing from the cracks of the doors. "Kairi?" he opened the door.

He gaped at what he saw. Kairi was there, sitting on the floor, her back turned to Zack… talking to Sora.

"What the… Sora?" he said in total confusion. Kairi and Sora turned to him sharply. "Dad?!" Kairi said in surprise.

Sora just rushed upstairs, leaving Kairi and Zack. "Sora, wait!" Kairi called out as she went after him.

"Kairi!" Zack called out as he rushed further inside the house to the stairs to go after his daughter, but as he got a hold of the banister, he heard a loud croaking noise coming from somewhere in the house. "What the…" he stopped in his tracks and looked behind him just when the door shut by itself. He gasped in surprise. Then he jerked and shuddered when he felt a cold hand grasp his wrist. He turned to look at who was holding him… and his eyes widened when he saw Cloud Strife looking like a deranged psychotic killer but he was so pale and bloody. Zack screamed.

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Kairi stopped in her tracks when she heard her father scream. "Daddy?" she said hoarsely before turning back to the stairs and decided to go down. When she got down, no one was there anymore. She began to search around the house. "Daddy!!!" she shouted, getting worried about him. Still, she couldn't find him. When she reached the first floor again and passed by a mirror hanging on the wall, she thought she saw the reflection of a woman with long brown hair standing before it. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening. "Auntie Aerith?" she thought before turning back. No one was there. Then she heard the horrible croaking sound that made her shiver. "Daddy?" she called out in fear as she took a few steps backward and then finally ran to the door, rushed out of the house and ran into the streets of Sector 2. She kept on running and running until she finally reached their condo unit in Sector 1 near the ShinRa Tower where the President and his family lives.

"Mommy!!!" she cried out in fear and hysteria as she reached their suite and went to her mother who was standing by the window. "Kairi?" Yuffie said in awe upon seeing her daughter crying and looking so messed up. She took her daughter in her arms, embracing her tight. "Kairi, what's going on?" she asked.

Kairi kept on crying, "Mommy! It's daddy!!! I can't find him! He's lost!!!" she said helplessly. "What? But… where did you come from? How come you're…" Yuffie trailed off when Kairi spoke up again, "I went to the Strife's house to play with Sora but…" she suddenly stopped talking and then lost consciousness, collapsing in her mother's arms. "Kairi!" Yuffie exclaimed, feeling more worried…

* * *

Onward to the 6th chapter, please!!! XD


	6. Yuffie

The House of Strife

By GQ and Zhak

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Chapter Six: Yuffie

Yuffie just sat by her daughter's bed, making sure she's alright. Kairi still hasn't regained consciousness and she was beginning to get worried while trying to think of what happened to Zack. But Kairi did mention that she went to the Strife's house…

"Maybe Zack is there…" she thought silently before she glanced back at her daughter. She swallowed hard and feeling determined to look for her husband, she got up and decided to leave Kairi there for a while to go to the said house.

She was all alone when her car stopped in front of the house. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the front porch and opened the door.

"Zack?" she called out. Curiously, she walked into the living room, closing the door behind her. "Anybody in here?" she called out again. She felt a slight chill in the room, but she knew that no doors or windows were open. "Geez, this place really creeps me out…" she mumbled to herself.

She called out Zack's name several times. She went in every room in the first floor, looking behind furniture, under beds and every possible place that Zack could hide. Nothing.

"Zack? Please come out," she said desperately when she stepped on the first stair-step. She froze when she thought she heard somebody running behind her. She looked towards the direction of the runner. She found herself looking at the front door. "What the heck was that?!?" she thought to herself as goose bumps rose on her skin.

"It was nothing… I'm imagining things…" she thought. She ran upstairs and called out Zack's name again. "Where are you? Are you in here?" she opened the door to a bathroom. It was empty. She sighed as she went in to look at the shower area. "Zack?..."

When she turned around and faced the mirror, she thought she saw something else there… but upon second glance, she was only staring at her own reflection. "This house _really_ gives me the heebie-jeebies…" she said out loud.

"Zack? Are you in here?" she repeated again. She froze in the hallway. There was light cracking through one of the doors. "How come I didn't see this before?..." she thought to herself as she reached out for the doorknob…

She gasped when she entered the room. Through a hole in the ceiling, she caught a glimpse of blue trousers and large, SOLDIER combat boots being dragged up. "ZACK!!!" she screeched. She jumped up to try and reach his feet, but she couldn't jump high enough. Her heart beating painfully in her chest, she ran towards the stairs leading to the attic, the room above the one she was been in.

"Zack!!" she screamed desperately as she reached the attic. It was empty. "No…" she choked as she fell on her knees. She started sobbing.

"Ou-a-a-a-a-a-a"

Shivering, she slowly turned her head towards the source of that horrible, croaking sound. She saw Aerith slowly crawling towards her from a dark corner of the attic…

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"Kairi,"

Kairi wearily opened her eyes when she thought she heard Sora say her name. Her vision was blurry at first and she smiled slightly when she saw him standing by the bed beside her and smiling lovingly at her. "Kairi," he said softly.

She reached out a hand to him. "Sora," and blinked to clear her blurred vision.

Her eyes widened and she felt stunned when she saw that Sora wasn't there anymore. She instantly got up and scanned the whole room. No one was there. "Sora?" she called out.

No answer.

She got off the bed and put on her shoes. "Mom?" she called out. As soon as she reached the door, everything soon came back into her memory.

"Kairi," she heard Sora's voice again from somewhere in the living room area. She rushed to the living room area but there was no one there. However, she jerked when she heard the main door close. "Sora!" she went to the main door and instantly opened it, looking outside into the hallway and towards the elevators, but there was no one there, still.

She swallowed hard and got back inside the room again with tears in her eyes. "Mommy… daddy… where are you?" she thought in worry.

Then she remembered. Her father had disappeared in the Strife house. Her mother was there when she fell into a coma. She must have went off looking for her father.

"No… Mommy, don't come in the house!" she sobbed as she ran towards the elevator, repeatedly pressing the down button in hopes of making it go faster.

"Hey! Kid! Watch it!" screamed an angry driver. Kairi didn't stop running. So far she had risked getting run over by a car, 2 limousines, 5 trucks and a kid on a bicycle. She didn't even flinch when the drivers almost hit her as they violently stepped on the brakes.

All she was thinking of was _Sector 2, Sector 2, Sector 2 _

It was a long run from Sector 1. She felt her lungs ready to explode. Her feet, still weak from lying down in a bed for a long time, felt sharp shooting pains at every step. Her eyes and nose hurt from the smoke and the bright lights of the city. But she didn't slow down.

When she was ready to collapse in exhaustion, she felt a hand on her arm, urging her to go on. She didn't stop.

Finally, the house came into view. "Mom!" she screamed breathlessly as she ran towards the front door.

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"Ae… ae… ae…" Yuffie stammered. She wasn't alone in the attic after all. She crawled backwards. Her nails scratched the floor, leaving violent white lines on the wooden planks.

"No… you're not Aerith." She swallowed. The corpse in front of her had her eyes wide. Her mouth was wide open, as if locked in a scream that she can't let out. Only an inhuman-sounding croak emanated from her throat.

Yuffie kept whimpering as she inched away from the woman crawling towards her. Then she felt a wall behind her. "Aaah!" She screamed as she hid her eyes behind her hands, not wanting at all to see how Aerith will kill her.

_"Ou-a-a-a-a-a-a" _

Horrified green eyes stared at her. She was reaching out for Yuffie as she continued crawling on the floor. She laid a bloody cold hand on her knee, and then…

Yuffie fearfully peeked through her fingers. She saw Aerith's face, but she felt the corpse embracing her. "Ah… ah… ah…" she stammered.

Behind Aerith suddenly appeared a bloodied man standing up and glaring at her. In his right hand was the Ultima Weapon. The white of his clothes are stained red. His blonde hair was splotched all over with red.

"C… c… c…." Yuffie choked. The corpse of Cloud Strife looked at her as if she was an enemy, somebody who was responsible for the broken ribs visible through his shirt.

* * *

"Mom! MOOOM!" Kairi screamed as soon as she was in the house. She kept screaming, looking at every room in the first floor. "Mom! Please tell me you're not here…" she said to herself as she started running upstairs.

She heard a woman scream. "Oh no!" Kairi cried. She felt tears sting her eyes as she ran towards where the scream came from: the attic.

And there she saw it, as soon as she opened the door: her Uncle Cloud stabbing both her Auntie Aerith and her mother. "NOOOO!"

Yuffie didn't get a chance to see her daughter before she died.

Cloud turned sharply towards Kairi when he heard her scream. With a twisted angry look on his face, he started approaching her, dragging the bloody sword with him as he walked, the blood still fresh and dripping from the sharp edge.

Kairi stood petrified by the doorway as she watched Cloud take every step. A panicked, paranoid rambling came from his mouth: _"She's not Aerith. Aerith is dead. I was tricked… Aerith is dead. Sora is not my son." _

And then a hand just gripped Kairi's right wrist. She jerked slightly before turning to her right side, seeing Sora standing there. …but he did not appear like a normal human being anymore; instead, he looked so pale and there were dark circles around his eyes. He was wearing the same clothing that he was wearing… but he looked different now. He seemed… dead. And it made Kairi shiver and gasp as she tried to break free from him, but she was being held still by him. She turned back to Cloud and saw that he looked angrier than ever. She shrieked and tried to move away, ending up dragging Sora with her. "Let me go!!!" she shrieked as she finally reached the front door, but Sora's grip tightened around her wrist. She froze as she stared straight into his eyes as he stared back at her. "Stay with me, Kairi. I'm so lonely in here." He said with a pleading tone.

She cringed. She could see from her peripheral vision that Cloud was slowly descending the stairs, staggering and dragging his Ultima Weapon with him while keeping his eyes on Kairi.

"Sora, let me go…" she pleaded as tears fell from her eyes.

"Why, Kairi? Don't you like me anymore?" Sora asked.

She pushed him away from herself with a disgusted look on her face. "You are not Sora anymore! You're different! Sora wouldn't let people die just like that! You let my mommy and daddy die!!!" she shrieked angrily before she finally opened the door and stepped out.

"KAIRI!!!" Sora screamed her name as she ran towards the gate of the house. She would not even turn back, but when she heard the door slam by itself, she turned around instantly and heard Sora screaming, "DADDY NO!!!!!" followed by bloody screams coming from inside from Sora himself.

She just stood still for a while, staring helplessly at the house, sobbing helplessly. She looked up one of the windows and saw her Auntie Aerith looking down at her with tears in her eyes as if begging her to just leave. Kairi swallowed hard and just moved away from the house… the next thing she knew, she was running…

Running again… not caring about the world anymore. She just needed to get out of there. She just ran and ran until she reached Sector 1.

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The First Family was having their dinner at the time when an officer entered the room and whispered something to the President's ear.

Rufus ShinRa frowned. "Pardon me, but I must leave for a few minutes," he announced. Looking at Tifa, he added, "Please come with me."

Curiously, Tifa stood up and walked with Rufus outside of the dining area. "Where is she?" asked Rufus.

"The poor thing was tired. We let her rest in a room on the 68th floor," replied the officer as he led the way towards the elevators.

"Who?" asked Tifa as they stepped in. The officer pressed button 68.

Rufus sighed. "Kairi Knightblade."

The elevator doors opened and they walked in the hallways. The officer opened one door and the couple stepped in.

They found Kairi sitting in one corner, ignoring the comforts of the bed or the sofas in the room. She hid her face between her arms. She was trying to control her sobbing.

"Ms. Knightblade? The President and the First Lady are here," said the officer gently.

She looked up. Her eyes were very bloodshot. As she caught a glimpse of Tifa, her eyes welled up in tears again. "Auntie Tifa!" she cried as she stood up and ran to her. She sobbed as she embraced her.

"Oh dear!" said Tifa, surprised at the girl who was suddenly hugging her and seeking comfort. She returned the embrace and stroked her hair. "There, there…"

"I'm-(sob)-all alone now! (Hic) Mommy and Daddy are dead! (Sniffle) Sora… Uncle Cloud killed Sora and Auntie Aerith!" she rambled as she sobbed hysterically.

Rufus' facial expression didn't change as he watched the redhead cry. "What? Your parents are dead?" he asked.

Kairi couldn't answer in between sobs, but she nodded. "Mo… mo… mom…" she said.

"How did they die?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.

Kairi just shook her head. She could not say… she did not know how. She just continued to sob as her embrace tightened around Tifa.

Tifa had this worried look on her face as she exchanged looks with Rufus. Even if Kairi did not say anything else, they had a feeling that they knew where Yuffie and Zack died… but they just shut up about it. They would not want the media to find out anything about it or else it would just be sensationalized, as usual, and it would create a big controversy and ShinRa might get blamed for all the deaths.

Tifa just lowered her gaze to the floor with a bitter smile on her face while trying to stop her own tears from falling, "Hush now, Kairi… don't worry… your Uncle Rufus and I will take good care of you from now on…" she whispered softly.

Rufus just stood still, watching the two with a stunned gaze. "Cloud… what the hell did you start?" he thought in anger for his dead friend.


	7. Aerith

The House of Strife

By General Quistis and Zhakeena

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Chapter Seven: Aerith

"Cloud? What's wrong?"

"…"

"It's nothing, Aerith."

"Well… all right." She smiled at him as she continued eating her meal. Turning to Sora, she asked, "So, Sora, how was your day?"

"Eh… so-so." Sora replied, playing with the peas in his plate.

"So-so?"

"Nothing neat happened. It was a boring day, actually…" Cloud didn't hear the rest of the conversation. All throughout dinnertime, he stared at empty space. If he wasn't, then he was glaring at Aerith accusingly.

_"My mind is in turmoil. She's hiding something…" _he thought.

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_Earlier that day…_

"Foo's! Nice of ya'll to drop by!!!" Barret greeted as Cloud and Aerith stepped inside his house in Sector 7. Aerith placed a bag of fruits on top of the kitchen counter. "Well we just thought we'd drop by here before fetching Sora for school." She said happily.

"Really? Sora, your boy? How is he?" Barret asked as he offered them seats.

Cloud smiled proudly. "He's 14 now and he's really good in swords… although his weapon is a Keyblade. But he's well-known in his school for his skills that I taught him when he was younger." He explained.

"Oh dear… is this how you arrange things in here?" Aerith asked in horror as she opened the cupboard and saw that everything was cluttered and disarranged inside.

"Honestly Aerith, dad doesn't know how to maintain this kitchen ever since you moved out with Cloud to live in your own house!" Marlene said as she entered.

"Oh hello, Marlene!" Aerith greeted happily as Barret rushed to the cupboard. "Whatcha doin' openin' cupboards anyway?" he asked in shame.

"I'm looking for the fruits basket so that I can put the fruits there and put away the plastic bag." She replied. "And from what I can remember before Cloud and I moved out, I arranged everything in that cupboard but I don't see a fruits basket anymore!" she continued before turning to face him.

"Eheheh…" Barret laughed sheepishly.

Marlene just giggled. "It's over here, Aerith," she said before leading the way.

When the two women left the kitchen, Barret turned to Cloud. "Yer darn lucky foo' wit Aerith, y'know?" he asked with a proud smile on his face.

Cloud blushed slightly and nodded sheepishly. "Y…yeah…" he said.

"Jus' think what if ya didn't end up wit her? Say she married the wrong guy like Zack… and then you got hitched wit Tifa?! Man oh man…" Barret said.

Cloud felt his heart jump when he heard that. "D…don't say that!" he said, feeling so bad about himself. If that really happened, he would probably be the most miserable creature ever… and there would be no Sora, his other pride and joy aside from his wife, Aerith.

Barret laughed at him. "Har har har!!! What if there was a major switch?! Like y'know, the darn foo's supposed ta be dead, right? But then she got back to life, same with Zack 'n Rufus 'n Sephiroth plus all the other dead guys for a second chance. What if they're just zombies and you're just hallucinating like what would happen in horror and suspense flicks nowadays? And then you got hitched to Tifa pretendin' to be Aerith? Well y'know the girl once liked ya and stuff but…" he trailed off when Cloud just got up and yelled, "Aerith!"

Silence.

Cloud frowned. Suddenly he appeared angry and uncomfortable. "Aerith!!!" he called out.

Aerith showed up again with a worried look on her face while carrying a fruits basket with Marlene trailing behind her with a curious look on her face. "Yes, Cloud? What's wrong? Why are you shouting like that?" Aerith asked him.

Cloud was quiet for a while, staring hard at his wife. His vision seemed to darken; Barret's words whirling around his head. Is that really Aerith standing in front of him and staring back at him?

Aerith began to put the fruits in the basket. "Are we going to Sora's school now? Isn't it early? It's only 2:30. His dismissal time today is at 3:30." She told him solemnly.

"Sora's in high school and you're still fetching him?" Barret asked in disbelief.

"Well… every Friday the family goes together to the mall or to the park to hang out and bond and eats dinner someplace else… like a restaurant?" she explained with a sweet smile on her face.

Cloud's eyes narrowed at Aerith. "_Pretending to be Aerith…_" Barret's words echoed through his mind. Cloud clenched his fists. "…Tifa smiles like that too…" he thought silently to himself as he continued to watch her. She saw Cloud looking at her and she smiled at him before turning away, proceeding to the dinner table and placed the fruits basket there.

"Okay, that's enough household chores for you, Aerith. I'll clean this place up once you guys leave." Barret teased.

She just laughed and playfully _punched_ his arm. When Cloud saw that, his eyes widened. He just walked out of the house with a disturbed look on his face.

Aerith blinked. "Cloud?" she called out.

For the rest of the afternoon, he was just quiet and did not even bother to talk to her. He drove to Sora's school with a very nervous Aerith on the front seat beside him… and once Sora got inside the car and greeted his parents and asked where they would go for the afternoon, Cloud just snapped at them, "No. We're going home. I'm tired." And drove back to their house in Sector 2.

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After dinner, Sora lay on his bed, thinking about anything bad he's done to upset his Dad. "Wonder if I did anything wrong. He's acting like a zombie today…"

And it was the first time he saw his father being so cold towards his mother. It made him feel so bad. "Are they fighting? What's going on? They've never had any arguments before? They used to be so happy… so perfect!" he turned to the other side and stared at the wall in shock. The perfect couple that everyone knew were at the next room… with violent voices echoing from it. It seemed so wrong…

Then he jerked and his blue eyes widened in shock when he heard a sound: THUD!!! Followed by his father's voice yelling angrily at someone… his mother! Sora instantly got up from his bed but he couldn't move from where he was standing, staring horridly at the door.

"YOU ARE NOT AERITH!!!" Sora heard his father yell

And he heard his mother answer in between sobs, "Cloud what is wrong with you?! I _am_ Aerith! I'm your wife!!!"

THUD!!!

CRASH!!!

Sora jerked and took a step backward. "They're fighting?!" he thought .

"CLOUD, NO!!!" he heard his mother scream.

"Shut up, _Tifa_! How dare you deceive me!!! I should've known!!! You whore!!!" Cloud yelled angrily. Sora's eyes widened. "Wh…what?" he thought, feeling confused.

Cloud Strife grabbed a handful of Aerith's hair, making her cry out in pain and then dragged her across the room. "I HATE YOU!!! I HATE YOU!!! YOU ARE NOT AERITH!!!" he was yelling hysterically before pushing her against a wall with an end-table before it and a mirror hanging on it, reflecting Cloud.

Aerith's head accidentally hit the edge of the table, injuring her. She bled as she writhed in pain. "Cloud… I…" she struggled to say, but he knelt down before her and shook her violently, "SHUT UP!!!!! You are not Aerith… the real Aerith is dead, remember? Sephiroth killed her… So stop imitating her voice, Tifa! Stop it!" he snarled angrily.

Aerith began to cry helplessly.

"You think I'll pity you by crying?" he hissed.

"Cloud let me go, you're hurting me!!!" she cried out as she tried to push him away from herself. What has gotten into him? She was suddenly afraid.

"Cloud let me go you're hurting meeeee…" he mimicked with a sarcastic tone. "…Let you go, huh? Not until you pay for what you have done to me!!!" he yelled in rage before he got up and grabbed a handful of her hair again with his other hand while his other hand grasped her wrist tightly, dragging her with him upstairs. She struggled to break free from him, but he was too strong… Her body struggled in pain as she hit the hard wooden steps of the stairs. "Cloud… please… stop it… Sora… our son… he's…" she struggled to say. She was worried about their son's sake.

"Sora? Our son? Is that really Sora? Is that really _my_ son?! You whore! I hate you!!! I hate you Tifa! I hate you!!! That is not my son! That is your son with Rufus!!!" his facial expression softened. "Poor Rufus… poor, poor Rufus… he married a whore… and his whore is a two-timing bitch pretending to be my Aerith… why, Tifa? Is it too hard to accept the truth that I am in-love with Aerith and not with you? Huh???" he demanded with a solemn look on his face. He turned to look at Aerith again, dragging her to their bedroom. His facial expression changed again, from solemn to angry-deranged and she just gasped. She felt so afraid of him. He threw her against the wall, making a thudding noise as her body hit. She felt some of her bones break and she screamed in pain and agony.

He was panting hard, just staring angrily at her in disgust. "I hate you, Tifa…" he hissed.

Aerith struggled to crawl to him, crying in fear and agony. "Cloud, please… I'm Aerith… please …st…stop!!!" she begged helplessly. He stepped on her hand, his combat boot grinding it against the floor, making her scream in severe pain. "Yeah… ya like that, huh? So that you wouldn't be able to punch people again." he hissed sadistically with a sick smile on his face. Aerith still looked up at him despite the tears and the pain she was feeling. "Cloud, no…" she was thinking.

He kicked her face hard.

She was bleeding hard now and she was shaking violently and writhing in pain. "Cloud… please… stop it…" she struggled to say in between her sobs and tears.

He just stared mercilessly at her before grabbing his Ultima Weapon. Aerith felt her heart sinking. "No…" she sobbed as she felt so cold all over.

Without saying another word, Cloud just stabbed her through her lower abdomen, using the sword to pin her against the floor. She opened her mouth to scream… but all that came out was a long gasp that sounded like a croak. "Oua-a-a-a-a-a-a…"

He then got a cutter from one of the drawers and stood over her, gazing down at her mercilessly. She still kept her eyes at him, tears welling up. He knelt down before her with a deranged look on his face. "I hate it when you stare at me like that, Tifa…" he said hoarsely as he readied the cutter. Tears fell from Aerith's green eyes as she kept on staring at Cloud… but she could not feel anything anymore. She stopped moving and just lay down still, watching blankly as her beloved husband began to cut her lower eyelids…

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Tifa was in Rufus's office, waiting for him to finish with his work so that they could have dinner together with the children. "Hurry it up, Rufus, it's 8 already and I'm hungry!" she said while shaking his shoulders from behind him. He just laughed. "Okay, okay… I'll just finish this tomorrow morning and then…" he stopped when the phone began to ring.

She frowned at him and moved over to his desk, sitting down stubbornly. "If that's another client, tell him that you're busy right now with your wife," she said with a teasing grin. He just smiled slyly at her before answering. "Good Evening, how may I help y…" he trailed off and his smile faded. "Sora?" he asked. Tifa's smile faded as she blinked. Rufus frowned and took a deep breath. "What? Speak clearly, I can't…" he pressed the speakerphone button and put down the receiver. "Uncle Rufus!!! My daddy is…" they heard Sora say.

Silence.

"What?" Rufus asked.

Dial tone.

Their eyes widened. "What the bloody hell?!" Tifa cried out in shock.

Rufus tried to dial the Strife's phone number but the computer-operated voice spoke up, "The number you have dialed does not exist."

"What?" he asked in confusion. Tifa got her mobile phone and decided to call Aerith, but she just heard a beeping sound, indicating that the number does not exist. The two began to feel nervous. Rufus got up from his seat. "Let's get going," he said before leading the way out of his office. Tifa followed after him. Once they were in the lobby, one of their daughters who just arrived home from practice in school for her martial arts team saw them. "Mommy, Daddy! Where are you going?" the 9 year-old blonde girl with crimson eyes asked.

"Just stay here, Lavinia. We'll be back in a while," Tifa told her reassuringly before going after Rufus who was already outside.

The little girl just blinked. The two Turks who fetched her, Vincent and Elena, turned to another Turk, Reno, who was standing by the receptionist. "Stay here, Elena. Reno, come on." Vincent commanded before running after the First Lady and the President. They just wouldn't let the two leave HQ without bodyguards.

Rufus was the one who drove to Sector 2 with his white convertible. Vincent and Reno were in the backseat. "Where are we going, sir?" Reno asked.

Rufus and Tifa did not answer. Finally, they arrived at the Strife residence in Sector 2. Rufus instantly hit the brakes and switched off the engine. They all stared at the house. It was awfully quiet and all the lights were switched on. Tifa swallowed hard and got down from the vehicle and rushed towards the house. "Tifa," Vincent called out as he followed after her.

Rufus slowly got down from the car, feeling that something was wrong inside. Vincent stopped in his tracks by the gate, not wanting to follow Tifa further into the house because he felt something bad about it.

Reno and Rufus went after Tifa who was already inside the house. They stopped in their tracks when they saw that the whole first floor looked all cluttered and messy. When they were already by the stairs, they saw blood on the floor, the wall and on the end table by the wall and the mirror. Rufus and Reno frowned, and Tifa gasped. "Aerith!!!" she called out before rushing upstairs. "Sora!!!" she called out.

No answer.

"Cloud!!!" she shouted. She stopped in her tracks when she saw that the first door from the stairs was open. She slowly neared it… and when she did so, she saw Aerith's dead body on the floor being pinned onto it by the Ultima Weapon. She shrieked and backed away, leaning against the wall facing the doorway of the masters' bedroom. Rufus and Reno rushed upstairs to come to her aid. "Tifa, what's…" Rufus trailed off when he saw the scenario. "What the bloody hell…" he had managed to say in shock.

Reno felt disgusted. "Argh! That's… who did this?!" he had managed to say.

They all turned to the other room where Sora is supposed to be located, but they just saw Cloud standing by its doorway and staring blankly at them all bloodied and messed up.

"Cloud…" Rufus began.

Cloud just stared blankly at them as he slowly approached them. "What are you doing here?" he asked solemnly.

"Cloud what happened to you? Did you do this?" Tifa demanded angrily as she rushed to him.

"Tifa, no!" Rufus tried to stop her.

She shook Cloud violently, "Where is Sora!? What have you done to him and Aerith?!" she demanded angrily. He blinked. "…T…Tifa?" he asked softly.

"Stop acting innocent! You did this to Aerith!!! Where is Sora?! What have you done to him?!" she demanded. Cloud just shook his head, looking confused all of a sudden. "No… you're not Tifa… you're dead… I killed you…" he said before pushing her away. "You're supposed to be right…" he went over to the masters' bedroom but he stopped in his tracks by the doorway when he saw Aerith dead on the floor, the Ultima Weapon still pinning her against the floor through her lower abdomen. "…here…" he said softly.

He slowly turned back to Tifa, then to Aerith, then again to Tifa, and back to Aerith. Everything came back to him in a flash… and he screamed.

The next things his friends knew, he was rushing down the stairs and he even tripped and fell down the stairs, rolling down with consecutive thudding sounds on the wooden floor. "Cloud!" Reno called out.

Cloud was crying already and was badly hurt, but he got up and instantly rushed outside the house into the street, going past Vincent.

"Cloud!" Rufus, Tifa and Reno went after him, but they stopped when Cloud reached the middle of the street. He froze and sensed someone watching him from the house. He turned back to the house and looked up at the second floor. He saw Aerith standing there, her eyes bleeding and it seemed like she was crying blood. She pressed her bloody hand against the glass of the window, smearing it with her blood as she smiled lovingly at him. She mouthed some words, but her voice echoed through Cloud's ear, "_I love you, Cloud_…"

His blue eyes widened.

It all happened so fast. Vincent, Rufus, Tifa and Reno saw Cloud reach out a trembling hand towards the direction of the second floor window of the masters' bedroom… just when a truck came out from nowhere and then hit him. They just watched in silence, feeling so stunned and disturbed. Nobody else knew how to react…

"How the bloody hell are we going to explain this to everyone…" Rufus muttered.

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The authorities had finished taking pictures of the body of Yuffie Kisaragi… the 12th person to be seen dead in the house. Her husband, Zack Knightblade, was nowhere to be found and reported to be missing. Their daughter Kairi is under the care of the ShinRas as of now.

More deaths occurred in the force. It is either by stabs in the abdomen or by an unknown force. Scientists at the ShinRa Labs would not disclose anymore information regarding the things they found in the autopsies.

They say that it is because they stepped foot in the old Strife house in Sector 2. The President was preparing for the house to be destroyed, but no one would take the job. The urban legend has been made, and now it has spread everywhere. It's most popular in the high school where Kairi used to study. As for her, she lives in the ShinRa Tower, has all the windows in her room boarded up and shut, so no light could enter her room unless she wanted it. She has private tutors so that she doesn't need to go to school and be harassed by students about the urban legends.

As for the house, it still stood there, unguarded and unoccupied, waiting for their next victims…

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-end-

GQ's final note: There's going to be a sequel to this whether ya'll will like it or not. So brace yourselves for more insanity… XD Eheheh!


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